A volunteer tutor at a Brooklyn day care — also the site of an unlicensed after-school program — molested a 10-year-old boy, police sources said.
Manathis Anderson, 63, who volunteered at Heavenly Miracle Academy Services in East New York, was charged Sunday with sexual abuse and child endangerment.
Manathis Anderson, 63, who helped students with reading and writing at Heavenly Miracle Academy on Blake Ave. in East New York, was charged Sunday with sexual abuse and child endangerment, sources said.
The alleged victim told police Anderson groped him over his pants on four different occasions between Dec. 22 and Jan. 11, according to a criminal complaint.
Jacqueline Mendoza, the owner of Heavenly Miracle, was stunned by the allegations against Anderson, who had volunteered there for two years.
“It’s very painful for me because these are my children, they are my life. If he did this, if he messed up my baby, I’d tear him up like a lion,” Mendoza said.
She admitted she did not have proper city permits to run a tutoring program at the preschool.
A day care worker at Heavenly Miracle Academy on Blake Ave. is accused of molesting a 10-year-old boy in his care.
“I don’t believe he did anything to that boy or any of the other kids. Someone would have seen it. He didn’t have the time or space,” Mendoza said. “He is certified, he has no record. Why would he risk everything to do something like that? But guilty or not guilty, he will not work here anymore.”
The victim comes from a troubled home and might have made up the allegations to get attention, Mendoza speculated.
“I think it’s a setup. I’ve watched this boy since he was a baby. His mother never came to me about any of this,” she said. “The boy has problems.”
Mendoza planned to review hours of security camera footage for signs of anything amiss. Anderson’s sister, who declined to give her name, said the charges against him were false.
“He’s been helping children over 30 years,” she said, adding that her brother is a minister. “This is a really crazy accusation.”